The “Web” is now well developed and literally millions of Web sites have been deployed, hosted on various servers around the world. Web sites comprises one or more related “pages,” in some cases extending to scores or even hundreds of pages. The subject matter of web sites spans the full range of human interests and endeavors, and many web pages now include dynamic content as well as multi-media content such as audio and video clips, slideshows and the like.
The creation and maintenance of web sites, especially sophisticated sites, requires appropriate software “tools”. In the simplest case, a page designer who is skilled in the use of a known page “markup language” such as HTML can use almost any text editor to create a web page. More specifically, the designer creates an HTML file that defines the desired page layout and content. The page file is stored, often together with other, related page files, in a file system coupled to a web server that is arranged for “hosting” the corresponding site (and potentially other sites as well). When a user “visits” the site, by navigating a web browser to the corresponding address or URL, he can download and view the page (or, the “home page” will simply download automatically when accessed). Typically, the web browser is a program running on the user's computer (or other web-enabled device such as a cell phone). A standard web browser, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer or Netscape, contains code for interpreting the HTML page and displaying the page. This is a simplified summary as the topic is well known.
Most web sites today are created and maintained using editors better suited to the task than an ordinary text editor or word processor. For example, an HTML editor can specially mark HTML “tags” and enforce compliance with HTML (or other markup language) standards. Some HTML or web page editors will provide several screen displays or “views” for the convenience of the designer, such an a code window showing the HTML code, and a “preview” or browser window showing how the web page will appear when the present code is processed in a web browser. These two views might be available side by side for showing the page designer the effects of various code changes in near-real time. Known web page editors typically also include file “browsing” features for storing and fetching content files for inclusion in a page under construction.
Known web site editors fall into several broad categories. First, there are “full blown” or standalone application programs for building web sites. Popular examples include Macromedia's “Dreamweaver” and Microsoft's “Front Page.” Many of these products provide extensive “visual editing,” which refers to designing a web page using “point and click” or “drag and drop” interfaces that enable selection of layouts and design styles and elements without writing code. The editor generates the code, such as HTML, that will implement the desired page design. Such programs may include various predetermined design “templates” to give the novice designer a “head start”. Standalone web page editors, however, are bulky applications, typically they cost money, and they require installation in a compatible computer to use them. A “compatible” computer here refers to one that runs the operating system on which the editor application was designed to run (and meets other system requirements such as available memory and processor specifications). Standalone editors also require that the user upload or “publish” the completed web page to a server when it is ready for use on the Web (sometimes called “going live”).
A second class of web site (or page) editor are those that run in a web browser. These are typically implemented as “plug-ins” i.e., code that is installed to supplement the web browser's native capability. Usually, plug-ins are acquired by download (via the Web) and then installed on the user's machine. One such plug-in editor is called “eWebEdit”. Once installed, it can be used to create or edit HTML code in a web browser, and then display the resulting web page. While this approach avoids acquiring and installing a complete, standalone web editor application, it still requires a software download, which can be time consuming if the user has a low-bandwidth connection.
Some web editors are implemented as Java applets that are downloaded to a user's web browser. Like the use of plug-ins, this technique requires downloading software (although “installation” may be transparent), which can cause annoying delay especially where the user has a slow connection. Finally, there are web editors deployed on a server for remote client-server operation. These of course impose a traffic burden on the network and may not be suitable for numerous users.
What is needed is a way to allow remote users to edit a web page (or entire site) maintained on a web server without requiring each user to acquire and install web editing software. Put another way, any web user (with permission) using virtually any computer should be able to edit a web page without having to download or otherwise install special web editing software.